World briefs

CHINA An attack in Xinjiang region left 15 people dead and 14 injured, state media reported, the latest in a wave of ethnic violence there that has claimed dozens of lives over the past year. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the attack took place at a “food street” Friday in Shache county, the same region where state media said a series of attacks in July left 96 people dead, including 59 assailants. Xinhua reported that 11 of the 15 people killed were assailants. Police in Shache county declined to provide information about the incident.

CHINA Beijing has adopted a smoking ban in all indoor public spaces including workplaces and public transport. Xinhua reported that the ban will go into effect in the capital city of 21 million people on June 1 and carry a fine of up to 200 yuan (USD32.50). The Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People’s Congress passed the draft regulation Friday. China is home to the most smokers of any country.

IRAQ Iraqi officials say two separate bombings have killed seven people in the capital Baghdad. Police officials say a bomb exploded yesterday near a small restaurant, killing four people and wounding nine others in northwestern Baghdad. A separate bomb blast near a wholesale fruit and grocery market killed three people and wounded 12 others in a southern Baghdad suburb.
Middle East U.S.-led coalition warplanes carried out as many as 30 airstrikes overnight against Islamic State militants in and around the group’s de facto capital in northeastern Syria, activists said yesterday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted IS positions in the city of Raqqa as well as the Division 17 air base, which the militants seized earlier this year from government forces.

US-RUSSIA The Department of Homeland Security’s latest figures show that overall applications for asylum by Russians totaled 969 in the 2014 fiscal year, up 34 percent from 2012. The increase is due in part to the worsening anti-gay climate in Russia, according to Immigration Equality, a New York-based organization.

USA The white police officer who killed Michael Brown has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department, his attorney said yesterday, nearly four months after the fatal confrontation with the black 18-year-old that led to protests across the U.S. Darren Wilson, 28, had been on administrative leave since the shooting on Aug. 9. The resignation is effective immediately, said one of his attorneys.

ITALY A runner has died while taking part in the Florence marathon. Luigi Ocone, 38, collapsed around a kilometer from the finish line yesterday and attempts to revive him by a doctor, who was also running in the event, and a nearby ambulance crew proved in vain. The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, says “a day of festivities marked by pain. The sympathies of the whole city go out to the family.” The race was won by Asbel Kipsang, with Kenyan compatriots Omari Levy Matebo and William Kibor completing the podium.

ANTIGUA The prime minister of Antigua & Barbuda has appointed actor Robert De Niro as special economic envoy of the twin-island nation in the eastern Caribbean. The administration of Gaston Browne said in a statement that the appointment comes after De Niro signed a memorandum of agreement on Friday for a USD250 million hotel investment in Barbuda. Officials said De Niro and Australian businessman James Packer will help renovate and expand a former five-star luxury resort that closed several years ago.